GPs will be stopped from handing out prescriptions for over-the-counter drugs to save the NHS millions of pounds each year.

NHS England has confirmed it is telling doctors to stop giving out medication that patients can buy cheaply at pharmacies.

Cough mixture, eye drops, laxatives and sun creams are among the products that will no longer be routinely prescribed, following an NHS England board meeting.

The move comes in a bid to free up £100million a year for frontline care.

The proposals to rein in prescriptions for medicines for minor conditions received "broad support" in a public consultation, members heard.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said the move would help the NHS invest more into important areas like new cancer treatments.

He added: "Across the NHS our aim is to: 'Think like a patient, act like a taxpayer'.

"The NHS is probably the most efficient health service in the world, but we're determined to keep pushing further.

"Every pound we save from cutting waste is another pound we can then invest in better A&E care, new cancer treatments and much better mental health services."

What the NHS spends each year

£22.8m constipation – enough to fund around 900 community nurses

£7.5m on indigestion and heartburn - enough to fund more than 2,000 hip operations

£5.5m on mouth ulcer gel - which could fund over 5,700 cataract operations

£4.5m on anti-dandruff shampoo

£3m on athletes foot and other fungal infections

£2.8m on diarrhoea

Some of the products currently can be purchased over the counter at a lower cost than that which would be incurred by the NHS.

For example, a pack of 12 anti-sickness tablets can be purchased for £2.18 from a pharmacy whereas the cost to the NHS is over £3 after including dispensing fees, and more than £35 when you include GP consultation and other administration costs.

Similarly some common tablets are on average four times more expensive when provided on prescription by the NHS.

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Saving for taxpayers

Dr Graham Jackson, co-chair of NHS Clinical Commissioners, said:“Unfortunately the NHS does not have unlimited resources and ensuring patients get the best possible care against a backdrop of spiralling demands, competing priorities and increasing financial pressures is one of the biggest issues CCGs face.

"It is not good use of the NHS’s limited resources to issue prescriptions for products which are not clinically effective, or for conditions that will get better without treatment or whose symptoms can be managed with appropriate self-care.

"We recognise that it may be difficult for some patients who have previously been prescribed these products, but it is right that we prioritise our spending on those that provide the best outcomes for patients.”

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John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s great news that NHS England will save a vast amount of taxpayers’ money by curbing prescriptions for basic items that are much cheaper to buy in the supermarket than they are to prescribe.

"Taxpayers should not be footing the bill for items like anti-dandruff shampoo or athlete’s foot powder, so cutting out wasteful spending like this will mean that precious resources can be focused on frontline services.

"Patients too must remember that these items are not 'free' – the money comes out of taxpayers’ pockets, so NHS England should be applauded for this move.”